It’s not the Polish, German or Yiddish language spoken by his parents. I am talking about the words and gestures they commonly use for good luck.

They are looking for good luck, probably, because they knew so much bad luck early in life. Both of my husband’s parents are Holocaust survivors.

They suffered the extraordinarily bad luck to be born in Poland in the years prior to World War II. They were children who lost mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers, along with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. With so much early trauma and loss, I cannot help but marvel at how they turned out.

My in-laws are loving, generous and optimistic. These qualities are obvious to anyone who knows them. My in-laws, however, are unlike anyone I know, perhaps because of their past. Despite their optimism, they regularly use words and gestures to summon good luck. It may be more accurate to say they are trying to drive away any bad luck. Either way, the goal is the same.

It’s common for some people to knock on wood for good luck. My family just does it. at an uncommonly frequently rate. Family gatherings often sound like construction sites or, at the very least, as though someone is very busy with a hammer.

When my mother-in-law tells us, “Cousin Hannah is feeling good after her surgery,” she will punctuate it by knocking on the nearest surface. Or, “Mark’s wife is having another baby”, she knocks some more. Or, “Sarah is doing well in school.” Knock, knock, knock.

If not knocking, my mother-in-law has another way of summoning luck. It’s best described as a one-word chant. The word sounds like “two-ey” (rhymes with “chewy”). She always says it in series of three. It’s her adaptation of an Old World ritual of spitting for luck. Instead of saliva, she uses words. When saying, “Henry has a great new job”, she follows it up with “Twoey, twoey, twoey.”

My mother-in-law’s most elaborate gesture accompanies the arrival of a new baby. After having my first child, she gave me a red satin ribbon with instructions to place it under the mattress in the crib for luck. It was not enough to tell her that I had done it. For the three years that my daughter slept in the crib, my mother-in-law would ask, “Is the red ribbon under the mattress?”

After many years, I am still far from fluent. Like any language, it’s best learned young, as my husband did. He often translates for me. In addition to the luck we influence ourselves, there are random incidents that signal good luck, such as dishes falling and breaking, bells ringing, and repetitive sneezing.

Although I would never be considered fluent, there are times I can convincingly use the same words and gestures.

It’s like living in California with so many people who speak Spanish — I can revert to it when others around are using it. (However, no one in the entire Spanish-speaking world would ever consider me fluent in that language, either.)

What I like best about this language is its optimism. Even after everything my family experienced in their lives, they still believe good luck is possible.

Violent police encounters in California last year led to the deaths of 157 people and six officers, the state attorney general’s office said Thursday in a report that provides the first statewide tally on police use-of-force incidents.

At 6:03 p.m. Wednesday, police responded to reports of the robbery at the facility, 2301 Bancroft way, and learned that a man who snuck into the facility and began prowling through the building, taking cell phones and wallets from victims.

Investigators’ efforts to solve the case led to the arrests of Pablo Mendoza, 25, of Hayward, Brandon Follings, 26, of Oakland and Valeria Boden, 26, of Alameda, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.